I wrote this article because I am a girl and I live with 5 other girls that are all trying to choose Halloween costumes, but this article can also pertain to men and anyone else that just wants to enjoy the Halloween season.

Other than the fact that Halloween is just around the corner, the idea from this article sprouted from a video I stumbled across just mindlessly scrolling through social media. I was unable to find the video, but I found a Buzzfeed article that essentially summed it up. Just to give you a preview of the article, the title is "19 Feminist Costume Ideas For Badass Little Girls."

I thought this whole concept was rather intriguing. I love seeing little girls looking up to strong powerful role models and striving to write their own impressive stories.

I am a female STEM major, and growing up I loved dressing up as doctors, surgeons, Clara Barton, Sally Ride, and a few other powerful women figures. Seeing the video and the article, I was thrilled to see that I wasn't the only kid that thought these costumes were awesome. At the same time, I also spent a few of my childhood years dressing to the nines in my favorite Disney princess dresses. I would also like to bashfully admit that my freshman year of college I jumped straight on board with the Mean Girl Halloween mantra and opted for a "sexy sailor" costume. Then the year after that I went as a "Victoria Secret Model". Needless to say, I have been in a wide variety of Halloween costumes in my day.

While women and men should have the right to make their own decisions about how they dress and how they present themselves every day, Halloween is an awesome opportunity to do this if you don't feel comfortable doing it in the day-to-day. That is part of the beauty of Halloween. There shouldn't be "rules of Halloween." Women shouldn't be obliged to wear lingerie out with a pair of bunny ears. If a girl wants to wear a turtleneck and pants then she should have every right to without feeling judged or awkward. At the same time, if that is what she wants to do then she should have the right to go for it. There is no need to "slut shame" and make a girl feel guilty for taking one day of the 365 in a year to express her sexuality and feel amazing about her appearance. If a girl wants to follow the costumes in the article then she should own it and proudly support that woman that helped progress our lives to what they are today.

I know I keep using "girls," "she," and "her," but the same should apply to men.

Men have a tendency to be more lax about Halloween costume selection. However, men may feel too intimidated to rock a "sexy" outfit because they fear other men or women may judge them. Guys should have the same freedom to express themselves in any way without having to fear judgment or harassment.

Once again, if a guy chooses to dress in a sillier or more conservative costume that should be entirely up to him.

The big takeaway here is that there is absolutely no reason to confine yourself to a pigeon hole of Halloween costumes. Just because movies, Instagram ads, your Pinterest feed, etc. told you that your costume isn't on the list for the "17 hottest costumes for 2017" doesn't mean that you shouldn't pursue your idea. If you want to be the costume of the year do it; if you want to be the first one in history to ever dress as your character do it; if you want to be all-out-there sexy do it; if you want to have every inch of your body covered with some form of clothing just freaking do it.

Halloween, much like any other day of the year, is your choice. You can choose what you want to be. If someone is going to judge you, chuck up a nice middle finger like our little princess on the cover page and strut on.